By
Monique Lester
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem
--- January 6, 2009...... After all is said and done and Israel's
defensive IDF operation in Gaza comes to an end, Hamas will
most likely claim victory. Hamas will argue, among other things,
that they were able to withstand the might of the Israel military
and survive as an organization.
That
Hamas was able to steadily and uninterruptedly attack Israel
and keep its citizens in fear during this overwhelming display
of force by the Israel army, therefore their capabilities were
put to the test and prevailed. That during these terror attacks
perpetrated against Israel, Hamas was able to damage Israel
infrastructure, murdering and wounding civilians and IDF personnel.
Hamas
will claim that their resolve is as strong as ever and that
those Palestinians that didn't agree with them before the IDF
operation will now favor them overwhelmingly because, they will
say, of the "massacre perpetrated by Israel against them".
They'll
insist this has made them even stronger than before, having
obtained the hearts of the people to their cause even further.
Finally, that once and for all they were able to show to the
international community that they are nothing more than the
brave and weakling victims of the Israelis. Some will say that
this is true, that Israel once again has tried to kill a mosquito
with a bazooka, and that the mosquito survived.
If
one sees mothers embracing their children while mourning the
loss of their husbands, the fear of an innocent child, the tears
on the mother's face, one wonders, can this really be called
a victory?
To
start with, Hamas has clearly shown that their argument of bravery
falls flat on its face if you consider how they hid behind women
and children throughout the onslaught, causing the death of
innocent civilians while doing so.
They
hid in mosques, universities, schools, hospitals and utilities
companies, all of which are part of the infrastructure which
the Palestinians need to lead normal lives and develop themselves
so that they are no longer in need of international aid. Israel
was made to destroy them because of this.
Particularly,
when one thinks of Hamas' perfectly healthy leaders hiding out
in Shifa Hospital, the image one perceives is one of utter cowardice,
not bravery. As Mohammed Bassiouni, the Chairman of the Egyptian
Parliament's Committee on Foreign Relations asked Where
is the Hamas leadership? They are all hiding in underground
bunkers while Gaza is being attacked.
As
to withstanding the military might of the Israelis and surviving
as an organization, it's become clear, even at this stage of
the operation, that Hamas' capabilities have been seriously
crippled. Their supply tunnels along Philadelphi Road destroyed.
Their warehouses and laboratories torn to shreds, hundreds of
their militants dead, thousands wounded and some of their top
leaders killed and most others in hiding. While it is true that
they have kept on launching rockets into Israel, it's also true
that as the ground offensive advanced, the number of rockets
fired into Israel have diminished.
That
while Israelis may fear Kassams and Grads, 90 percent of them
support the incursion and have faith that these attacks might
be the last they may have to endure. Its undeniable that were
Israel to stop operations at this moment, Hamas' could not have
withstood the operation, and that their future operational capacity
will be gravely diminished. Their survival therefore has been
seriously threatened by Israel.
If
one listens to the Palestinian girl who, live on Al-Aqsa TV,
blamed Hamas for the death of her 4 year old sister, one instantly
notices that any claim by Hamas to have won the hearts and minds
of the Palestinians is bound to collapse by its own weight.
Gazans have undeniably noticed that ever since the Hamas came
to power, they have failed to fulfill the promise that all peoples
expect from their governments, simply put, the fundamental improvement
of their living conditions. One has to assume that all Gazans
have experienced the dramatic decrease of their living conditions
due to Hamas' policies and that they have further perceived
the dramatic difference between their living conditions and
those of their relatives living in the West Bank.
This
latest operation is only the latest consequence of Hamas' rule
over their lives, and they, as the most educated people of Islam,
are certainly more than smart enough to have realized this.
Finally,
as has been shown by the statements of leaders the world over,
Hamas' image vis-a`-vis the international community has been
seriously damaged. Even Muslim countries have attached blame
for the situation to them, something which they had never done
before. While doing so, they have made any argument of victimization
impossible to any serious observer of the conflict. In short,
and as has been shown, were Hamas to claim a victory of any
kind after the Israeli attack on them, they would not only be
seriously mistaken, but it would be a pathetic claim to the
rest of the world and the Palestinian's themselves.
When
one sees mothers embracing their children while mourning the
loss of their husbands, one concludes, this could never be called
a victory at all, just the sacrifice of Gaza by those who only
seek power and death.
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